Centrifugal machine.



" PATBNTBD DEO. 27, 1904.

l No. 778,355.

T.. B. PREAS.

GENTRIFUGAL MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6, 1904.

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.13 im M y PATENTED DEC. l27, 1904.

T. B. PREAS. GENTRIFUGAL MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6, 1904.

ZSHEETS-SHEBT 2.

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Patented December 27, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS B. EREAS, OE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CENTHIFUGAL MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,355, dated December 27, 1904.

` Application filed September 6, 1904., Serial No. 223,472.

To @ZZ .whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, THOMAS B. FREAS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago,in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Centrifugal Separators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to centrifugal separators adapted to operate either under gage pressure or atmospheric pressure and also adapted to operate upon liquids of various kinds,such as boiler-water,mother-liquors, &c..

The objects of the invention are to provide a mechanism `which shall be simple in construction, efficient, easily regulated, and positive in its circulation. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-- igure 1 is a generall side elevation of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the shield and starting-vanes located at the top of the revolving shell. Fig. 3 is lan elevation, chiefly in the central section, of the revolving shell or casing, together with the parts therein contained. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the shell, taken on line 4 4, Fig. 8. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the shell with the upperpart removed, showing the arrangement of the discharge-tubes. Fig. 6 is a vertical section'view of a portion of the' gearing for ope erating the discharging-screws.. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view, in vertical section, showing the preferred construction of the parts adjacent to the tubular inlet portion of the rotating shell.

Similar reference characters denote similar parts throughout the several views.

The main framework t may be ofany-suitable design and is provided with the vertical journal-bearings a and a2. The tubular portions b and c and shell parts I) and c, respectively, are journaled in said rbearings a and a2, so as to rotate about a vertical axis. The collars b2 and 02 are rigidly secured to the parts o and c', respectively, by set-screws or other suitable means and rest upon the bearings a and a2, respectively, for supporting the separator-shell.A A band-wheel c3 is also rigidly secured to the portion c of the rotating shell; but any other suitable means for rotat- 'Ving and supporting said shell may be ernployed. The tubular portion Vb/ constitutes the passage through which the fluid is to be supplied to the machine, and the preferred manner of connecting it to the feed or supply pipe f/ZV is best shown in Figs. l and 7. The stationary casing CZ connects with the pipe CZ and is rigidly supported upon the main framel by means of the braces cl2 or in any other sultable manner. Said casing 1s tubular and of a greater diameter than the part so as to afford room for the packing cl3. rIhis packing is held in position between the annular collar cl* on casing CZ and the stuffing-nut di", which screws into the lower eX- tremity of said casing around the rotating inlet part t. rIhe vanes e are secured to and rotate with the part b for forcing liquid through the machine. The construction is similar at the discharge portionof the machine, where f represents the casing connected to the discharge-pipe f and supported by braces f2.

ing f and the rotating tubular portion d.

rlhe shell consists of the parts b and c, above mentioned, adapted to be bolted or otherwise secured together at the periphery and receive motion from the pulley offor other suitable driving means. rFhe shell is preferably tapered. at the peripheral edge, so that its greatest diameter lies in a horizontal plane be- 1 By prefer- `ence a portion of the inside surface of the tween thetop and bottom walls.

walls at the point of greatest Vdiameter of the shell is cylindrical to better cooperate with the receiving-openings of the tubular arms located within the shell in a manner hereinafter described. Near the upper portion of the upper shell part is secured a deiiector g, consisting of an annular plate having a set of vanes g', adapted to impart a rotary motion to the water or other liquid entering the shell. through the tube b@ Insideof theshell, at a height corresponding to the greatest diameter thereof, are located the tubular arms 7b, which are preferably two in number, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and so constructed that their The stuiiing'-nut f3, as before, prevents leakage between the stationary oasopen mouths approach to within a short distance of the vertical inner surface of the walls IOO of the shell. Said arms rotate relatively to l friction by relieving the said eollarsj of latthe shell for drawing off from all points of the periphery thereof the heavier matter there collected, and to facilitate the action the outer extremity of said arms are cut obliquely, the part which is last to reach any given point of the shell approaching` more nearly to the periphery than does the part first reaching such point. The arms should be evenly balanced to avoid vibration in the machine, and this is one reason for so arranging the arms that they extend in diametrically opposite directions from the center. Said arms /1 are supported upon and communicate at their inner extremities with the preferably U-shaped pipes L, which .in turn communicate with the upper extremity of the downtake-pipe if. Said pipes la, 7J, and 7a2 are braced, so as to remain in position and yet rotate independently of the shell, by means of the collar 7b4, which encircles the annular flange g2, formed upon the deiiector c, as best shown in Fig. 6. Collar /LL is rigidly connected to arms /t in the present instance by the perforated cone /l/, although any kind of bracing will answer. Said downtale 7b2 is of considerably smaller diameter than the tube c, to thereby afford a passage outside of said downtale for the purified liquid to the outlet-pi pcf'. Said downtalre 7a2 and the arms t secured thereto are rotatably supported by means of the collar 71.3, which is rigidly secured to downtale 7a2 and bears upon the contracted lower portion of the lower casing f, as shown in Fig. l. Said downtake discharges into the valved drain f '1, and in the preferred construction a stuffingbox is formed around the lower extremity of said downtale by means of the nutf, which forms a part of the drain f* and which screws in to the lower extremity of the extension f", formed upon the lower casingf. By this construction the downtake 71.2 discharges into the drain f4; but the purified liquid passing directly from the shell itself into the tube c will pass through the discharge-pipe f' without becoming mixed with the liquid in said downtake.

A helical worm or conveyer @I is mounted within the downtalze if and is rotatably supported by the hub of the bevel-gear which is rigidly secured to the upper extremity of said downtake and bears upon the upper surface of the pipes It. The rotation of said conveyer within the downtake causes the downward liow of the matter therein. In the discharge-arms /L /t are rotatably mounted the helical worms or conveyers j j, which are formed Lright and left By preference both of said conveyors are mounted upon the same shaft j" and are heldin their proper positionV by means of the thrust-collars jg, which bear against the inner closed extremities of the discharge-arms t, as shown in Fig. 3. The purpose in forming both of the conveyers jupon the same shaft is to reduce eral thrust when said conveyers are rotated within said arms, for with the present construction the tendency of the conveyors to shift toward the outer extremities of arms /1/ is overcome by the shaftj/ itself, which thus becomes subjected to teusional strain.

The bevel-gearj is rigidly secured to the shaft j in such position as to mesh simultaneously with the bevel-gear at the bottom and the bevel-gear at top. Said gear is vertically apertured in its center to receive the lower open extremity of the escape-pipe m, to which it is rigidly secured, as best shown in Fig. (i. lin the construction shown the pipe m is held at its proper elevation in the machine by means of said bevel-gear which prevents said pipe from rising, and the collar m', which is rigidly secured lo pipe fm. above deliector y, prevents said pipe from descending. However, any construetion which holds the parts in proper relationship and at the same time permits the shell and pipe m, and gear all to rotate at diil'erent speeds from each other may be substituted. The upper extremity of pipe my passes into a stuiiing-box formed of the cylindrical extension ai of the tube Z and a nut o, which screws into said extension, as best shown in Fig. 7. This construction at the upper extremity of pipe fm has two functionse-first, to prevent the escape of liquid. and, second and most important, to provide means whereby the friction tendingto prevent rotation of pipe m may be regulated.

rlhe operation of the machine in the form here illustrated is as follows: By means of the pulley c the shell c is caused to rotate at high speed, and the vater or other liquid to be acted upon is introduced through the pipe (Z. The liquid will be drawn into the shell by the action of the rotating vanes 1f unless the liquid itself is forced into pipe under pressure, in which case said vanes would notbe required. As the liquid enters the shell it strikes the deliector and is directed toward the periphery of the shell, and at thel same time the rotating vanes y impart a rotary motion to the liquid. By reason of centrifugal action the heavier particles of matter in the liquid tend to gather at the point of greatest diameter of the shell, this being opposite to the mouths of the tubular arms /a lf there were no friction to retard the rotation of said arms, the rotating liquid in the shell would cause said arms to rotate at substantially the same speed as said shell andthe mouths of said arms would remain opposite to the same point in the periphery of the shell and would not remove all of the heavier matter gathered there. The stuliing-nutfm, however, all'ords means for producing as much friction as is necessary in addition to the unavoidable frietion of the bearings of said arms, and by means of said nut the arms can be slowed down as IOO llO

much as desired. Under ordinary conditions the arms /t would be permitted to rotate at a speed almost as high as that of shell be, so `that there will be onlyY a slight drag, and the mouths of said arms will revolve relatively to the shell and gradually pass around the entire periphery thereof,'so as to enable them to receive all of the heavier material there collected.` vThe heavy material will be drawn into arms /Lv by the conveyers j. To more vreadily understand the-action which causes the conveyers to rotate in said arms, suppose that the stufing-nut d5 be screwed up so tight as to prevent the pipe m from rotating. Bevelgear/n would then stand still and the rotation of the arms /L about the vertical axis of the machine would carry the bevel-gear js around with them and cause said gear f3 and shaft j to rotate about the axis of .said shaft. This would cause the conveyersj to rotate, andthe more nearly the speed of the arms /t approaches that of the` shell thegreater willbe the speed of the conveyers in. their arms. This latter speed, however, may be reduced in/two ways, either by slowing down the arms 7L" by tightening the stuiiingnut f6 or by loosening the nut Z5 and permiting the fricf tion from the rotating shell to rotate pipe m.

These methods may be employed separately or both simultaneously. The purified liquid being lighter will remain at the center of the shell and pass down through the tubular outletfp outside of the intake It?. The passage of the heavy material down through downtake 7a2 willbe assisted by the conveyer a', which derives it rotary motion from bevel-gear j'3. Suppose, The-gear c" being on the opposite side of gear f3 would rotate twice as fast as gear j3 rotates about its own axis, but as the liquid is also rotating the net effect would be diminished; but the speed of rotation of conveyer a' may be'reduced either by reducing the speed of arms /t or by permitting pipe m andgear 7c to rotate. Thus by'suitably regulating the friction of the stuiiing-nut f and stuffingnut Z5 the parts may be brought to rotate at the desired relative speeds. The employment of a conveyer in downtale sary as an auxiliary to the conveyers in arms la, and under certain conditions of running and liquid to be operatedA upon conveyer z' may be entirely omitted. It is possible also to operate the machine with more or less efficiency without any conveyers in the arms /L if the liquid is forced into pipe d and through the machine. Under these conditions the iiow through the tubular arms and downtake would be regulated by the valve in the drain f4. If there is oil or other light material in the liquid, it will be collected at the upper central part of the rotating shell, and

diminishing the iiow through -the pipes f and fQL the lighter material will through the escape-pipe m.

be forced up If the machine as before, that gear l@ stands still.

/ is only necesby sufficiently.

be intended to operate on liquids not containing light material or if it is not desired to separate theV light material, it is obvious, of course, that the escape-pipe m may be omitted and that bevel-gear /t may be supported upon a solid rod.

Although this machine is intended primarily to operate upon liquids, it may be adapted to act as a dust-collector for separating dust from gases laden therewith. In such case rotation would be imparted tothe arms by the friction of the dust particles gathered at the periphery of the rotating shell.

It has been pointed out that the stuiiingnuts Z5 and f furnish the means whereby the friction of the pipe m and downtalze 7a2 may be regulated; but it would be equally possible to provideseparate devices for regulating the friction and permit the said stufling-nuts to perform merely their functions in preventing leakage.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure -by Letters Patent, is

l. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell, a tubularv arm rotatable within said shell independently thereof,

and means within said arm for drawing off matter from the shell through said arm.

2. In acentrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell having a tapered periphery; a tubular arm rotatable within said shell independently thereof, the open mouth of said arm approaching the point of greatestl diameter in said shell, and rotatable means within said arm for drawing off matter from the shell through said arm. y

i 3. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell; a tubular arm rotatable within said shell independently thereof; a screw conveyer within said arm, and means for rotating said conveyer.

4. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell; a tubulur arm rotatable within said shell independently thereof; a screw conveyer within said arm, a bevel-gearI rigidly secured to the shaft of said conveyer, a second bevel-gear in mesh therewith and having its axis coincident with the axis of the said separator-shell and means for controlling the rotation of said second bevel-gear. v

5. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell; a tubular arm rotatable within said shell independently thereof; a screw conveyer within said arm, a bevel-gear rigidly secured to the shaft of said conveyer, a rotatable escape-pipe leading from within the separator-shell and coinciding with the axis thereof, means for controlling the rotation` of said pipe, and a second bevel gearwheel meshing with the first and rigidly secured to said escape-pipe. 4

6. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell; a tubular arm rotatable within said shellindependently thereof; a screw conveyer within said arm, a bevel-gear IOO rigidly secured to the shaft of said conveyer, a rotatable escape-pipe leading from within the separator-shell and coinciding with the axis thereof, a friction device for controlling the rotation of said pipe, and a second bevel gear-wheel meshing with the first and rigidly secured to said escape-pipe.

7. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell; a tubular arm rotatable therein independently thereof; a screw conveyer in said arm; a tubular passage eommunicating with the inside of the shell and coincident with the axis thereof; a rotatable escape-pipe of smaller diameter than said tubular passage, said escape-pipe passing through said tubular passage; a pair of bevel-gears, one rigidly fixed, on said escape-pipe; and the other on said conveyer, and a stuffing-box between said escape-pipe and said tubular passage for preventing leakage and controlling the speed of rotation of said escape-pipe.

8. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell, a pair of tubular arms arranged in the same straight line in said shell and rotatable independently thereof; a right-hand screw conveyer in one of said arms, a left-hand screw conveyer in the other of said arms, and means for regulating the speed of rotation of said conveyers.

9. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell, a pair of tubular arms arranged in the same straight line in said shell and rotatable independently thereof; a righthand screw conveyer in one of said arms, a left-hand screw'conveyer in the other of said arms, both of said eonveyers being rigidly attached to a common shaft for neutralizing the thrust of the conveyers; a bevel-gear rigidly attached to the conveyer-shaft and means for regulating the rotation 0f said bevel-gear.

10. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell having a downwardlyextending outlet for the purified liquid; a tubular downtake for heavier matter leading downwardly from said shell through the said outlet thereof, said downtale being small enough to not obstruct the passage through l l l i said outlet; a rotatable screw conveyer located withiu said downtale; and means for regulating the rotation of said conveyor.

11. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell; a tubular arm rotatable therein independently thereof; a member attached to and rotatable with said arm; means for regulating the rotation thereof; a. eonveyer in said arm; a bevel-gear on said eonveyer; a second bevel-gear meshing with the first; and means for regulating the rotation of said second bevel-gear.

l2. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotatingshell; a tubular arm rotating therein independently thereof; a downtake communicating with said arm and rigidly connected thereto; a friction device for regulating the rotation of said downtalie; a conveyer in said arm; an escape-pipe communicating with the interior of said shell and having geared connection with said conveyor; and a friction device for regulating' the rotation oll said escape-pipe.

13. In a centrifugal separator the combination of a rotating shell having a tubular inlet and tubular outlet communicating therewith; a deflector near the inner mouth of the inlet for imparting a rotary movement to the. entering liquid; a pair of tubular arms in said shell rotatable independently thereof for drawing off matter; a downtah'e communicating with and rotating with said arms and passing out through the said tubular outlet o f the shell; means for regulating the rotation ol said downtake; screw conveyors in said arms; an escape-pipe passingout of the shell through the said tubular inlet of the shell, said escape,-

pipe being in geared connection with said conveyers, and means for regulating the rotation of said escape-pipe.

In witness whereof] have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS l. FINCAS.

Idlitnesses:

M. C. HU'rolnNos, HOWARD M. Cox. 

